Chapter 503: Modeus, and a Love Unlike the Books
In the moments that followed, Lucifer unleashed the full force of her oratorical prowess—a skill honed over millennia as both an Archangel and the Queen of Hell. She laid out the unbelievable truth of their situation, leaving Modeus utterly captivated and reeling from the revelations.
"Eh?! Another world?!"
"So that human man is that incredible?!"
"What?! Boss, you're sisters with a group of humans?! And you're all living together happily?! This is fascinating! Pandemonica! How could you know about a man like this and not tell me!"
Pandemonica tilted her head, her expression as placid as ever. "I intended to, but the Boss forbade it. I have an agreement with her not to disclose matters from this side. To do so would be a breach of contract."
Modeus nodded in understanding, her mind visibly racing. Then, a spark ignited in her eyes. She turned back to Lucifer, a sweet, almost cherubic smile spreading across her face. Though the expression was undeniably cute, a cold dread washed over Lucifer. She recognized that look. It was the precursor to a very, very big problem.
As if on cue, Modeus chirped, "Boss, if you even think about going back on your word or trying to send me back to Hell… I'll tell everyone!"
A muscle in Lucifer's jaw twitched. Her own employee, her supposedly loyal subordinate, had just driven a knife squarely into her back. With a long, suffering sigh, she conceded. "Don't worry. I won't make you go back…" Her voice was heavy with defeat. "Just… keep this to yourself. Now, follow me. I'll find you a room and get you a phone. Pandemonica, Cerberus, you two are responsible for teaching her the basics. That's all… come on."
About ten minutes later, Lucifer returned to the dining room, a look of utter helplessness etched onto her features. Trailing beside her was Modeus, whose smile was now positively radiant. Before Kasugano Sora or any of the others could even offer a greeting, Modeus's eyes lit up, having found their target. In a flash, she darted across the room and plopped down in the seat right next to Ren.
She stared at him, her gaze intense and unwavering, a delicate blush blooming across her cheeks. Ren blinked, momentarily taken aback by the sudden, fervent scrutiny. Lucifer simply covered her face with one hand. "Modeus, you're being a little too forward…"
Startled out of her reverie, Modeus flinched and quickly blurted out, "Th-that… I'm Modeus!"
Ren, still slightly bewildered, managed a nod. "Mm, I see…"
Nakiri Mana, observing from the side, looked completely puzzled. "Miss, if you don't mind me saying… your behavior is a little unusual, isn't it?"
Lucifer heaved another sigh, one that seemed to carry the weight of ages. "Allow me to introduce you all. This is Modeus. In my company, she's the data administrator and also the head of the etiquette department. You can just call her Modeus."
Modeus briefly turned to acknowledge Nakiri Mana and the others with a quick nod before her attention snapped right back to Ren, her gaze just as intense as before.
A corner of Ren's mouth twitched. "Lucifer, what exactly is going on?"
"You can think of her as… well, she's the same as Pandemonica."
Ren froze, his eyes flicking over to Pandemonica. The deadpan demon simply offered him a two-fingered peace sign, a gesture made utterly absurd by her perpetually stoic expression.
Kasugano Sora tilted her head, her voice soft and curious. "Eh? So, does that mean I should call her Big Sister Modeus?"
"Big Sister?" Modeus repeated, the words foreign on her tongue.
"Uh… mm…" Sora confirmed with a small nod.
"Big Sister!" Modeus exclaimed, her face lighting up with pure, unadulterated joy.
It was the first time anyone had ever called her that. Looking at the sweet, gentle girl beside her, Modeus felt a wave of certainty wash over her. Her decision to leave Hell was, without a doubt, the best one she had ever made.
She had found a man, discovered delicious food, and stumbled into a life far more interesting than she could have imagined—a life where she could finally study the subject of love that had always fascinated her. And now, she even had a little sister! The fact that her man was also her Boss's man was a twist she couldn't have possibly foreseen, but it only made things more exciting.
Meanwhile, Courage puffed out her cheeks in frustration. She hadn't even made any real progress yet, and now another rival had appeared out of thin air! Decora looked equally defeated, covering her face with her hands. Before, her problem was being too exceptional to find a boyfriend. Now, she'd found her target, but the line of seniors ahead of her was impossibly long, and every single one of them was just as outstanding as she was. How was anyone supposed to compete with this?
After a moment of thought, Courage looked at Lucifer. "You know, if your company has any other employees, you might as well just call them all over at once. This one-by-one trickle is impossible to keep up with. I don't even understand your company's structure at this point."
Lucifer paused, considering it. "No, I don't think anyone else should be coming, right?"
Modeus didn't say a word, far too preoccupied with observing Ren. He was already handsome, but to her, he was an endless well of curiosity. He was her man—or at least, she had already decided he was. The more she looked, the more perfect he seemed. She desperately wanted to say something, to start a conversation, but the words simply wouldn't come.
Cerberus, on the other hand, had already returned to her seat and was happily devouring her food. For a hellhound, life's priorities were simple and few: Ren, Ren's cooking, Lucifer and the others, and playing. Her world was refreshingly uncomplicated, which was perhaps the source of her boundless energy. It seemed to be a common trait among energetic girls—they lived purely, their worlds uncluttered by doubt.
Pandemonica spoke up softly, her voice cutting through the chatter. "Boss, you've forgotten about Lady Justice."
Lucifer sighed. "I'm not particularly concerned about Justice. She has a very good personality, and Ren himself said he'd like to be friends with her. Personally, I think they would get along quite well."
"Justice?" Aoandon asked, her interest piqued. "What a righteous-sounding name!"
Lanterby chimed in casually, "It's clearly a Western name, just like ours. Many names sound quite strange when translated directly."
"Like what?" Aoandon pressed, curious.
"Take the English word 'autumn,' for example. As a name, it becomes Autumn. It's generally a female name."
Aoandon didn't know the first thing about English, but she grasped the core idea: names could be strange. That was enough for her. The topic, however, sparked a lively conversation, as nearly everyone at the table—save for Ren, Kasugano Sora, Nakiri Mana, and Aoandon herself—was technically a Westerner. Nami, having no concept of what a Westerner was, was simply swept up into the group by default.
After watching her for a while, Ren asked gently, "Modeus, why aren't you eating?"
"Ah…" she started, looking up from her trance. "Is… is this food made by you, Ren?"
Cerberus barked out a cheerful confirmation. "Mm! Ren's cooking is the best!"
"Agreed!" came a chorus of nine other voices.
Modeus swallowed hard, her eyes finally taking in the dazzling array of breakfast dishes spread across the table. Seeing her hesitation, Ren sighed softly and ladled a bowl of porridge for her. "It looks like you haven't eaten yet. Have some shrimp porridge to warm your stomach first."
Modeus stared down at the fragrant, steaming bowl, then looked back up at Ren.
He offered her a kind smile. "Just pick whatever you'd like to eat. There are all kinds of flavors. Try a little of everything, and then I'll know what you prefer."
Modeus nodded repeatedly, her heart fluttering. After a long, silent moment, she finally managed to blurt out a single, triumphant thought.
"This isn't how it happens in the books at all! You truly are the man I've set my sights on!"
[Akarin's Note:
Enjoying the story? Dropping a quick review, comment, or Power Stone means the world to me and keeps these daily updates flowing!
Want to read 50 chapters ahead or just want to help keep a shameless translator alive? (My livelihood actually depends on this, haha 😭). You can support me directly here:
(P.S. Just remove the brackets and replace the [.] with a regular dot . to use the links!)
✨ Patreon (50 Advanced Chapters): patreon[.]com/AkarinTL
☕ Ko-fi (Support / Sponsor): ko-fi[.]com/AkarinTL
🔗 All My Links: linktr[.]ee/AkarinTL
Thank you so much for reading and keeping this project alive!]